DIY LED Bat Top joy sticks

[tylerwerrin]

Hi guys,

My CP has 90's style Bat tops -- I like the style more than the ball tops, yet I love how the ball tops light up and generally just look awesome with an LED wiz. Anyways i started searching around on the net, and discovered that only one guy has ever made an illuminated bat top -- it was a prototype in which he cast a mold, dyed resin and installed joystick shafts.

His looked awesome, so I figured I'd give it a try. The one catch I have found is finding low cost joysticks which are hollow to allow for the wire to be threaded inside. Anyways, I'll get to that in a minute. Here's what I did (sorry for no pictures during the build... i'll get some if you are interested!)

1) Bought OOMOO 30 Silicone Molding compound and mixed it 1:1 in a mixing cup.

2) Using a Happ competition joystick as my mold template, I inserted the joystick with the bat top facing down in my drill press and lowered it into my Silicone. The next morning, my mold had hardened. I popped the joystick out, leaving a nice cavern for which I would cast my resin into.

3) i used 1 drop of Castn' Craft white pigment with about 5 ounces of resin. It turned a nice milky white. This would be what I would cast with.

4) I had purchased some 1/4" steel tube at a local auto parts store and cut it to the length of my bat top, plus half an inch. I then threaded one end of the hollow tube with 1/4-20 thread.

5) I then screwed on a 1/4-20 brass wood insert.

6) I put this arrangement, with the threaded end & insert DOWN into my mold, and got it directly in the middle. I then filled the mold with my resin mixture.

7) I let the thing cure for a couple days in the sun just to be sure. I popped the newly cast bat top out of the mold and then using the force of the chuck on the hollow tube i was able to unscrew the tube from the newly cast top!

I now have a handle (which looks comparable to a normal joystick shaft.. it could look better, and will, after I chrome it -- the stainless steel finish isn't the best). I will thread an RGB LED easily down the shaft of the hollow tube -- with any luck it will light up just fine!

I'll keep you guys posted...

[Slippyblade]

I, too, prefer bat tops to ball tops.  I'll be following this thread closely.   

[Brutick]

I would love to see some pictures of this! I'm curious how the bat top looks currently.

[Mr_Numbers]

Very cool and gives me some idea's for myself.  Lets see some pictures! 

[PL1]

This might be a great way to make rubber padded octagonal LS-30 style handles for the Happ Mechanical Rotary Joystick like mytymaus007 was looking for here.

WARNING: Linked thread contains content by "gamuhar". (a Driverman alternate identity)  Not responsible for any loss of I.Q. resulting from reading his posts -- you have been warned.  WARNING   


Scott

[Billy_Goatfeet]

 I like where this is going....subscribed....



BG.

[Billy_Goatfeet]

  Wow, I ignored your warning PL1 about the "gamuhar" content in that thread....you were correct...lost a few point on that one.   


BG.

[tylerwerrin]

Hi guys,

Still waiting on my rgb LEDs -- i think I might try one additional thing once they come -- the wall if my steel pipe is pretty thin so I had to go very easy on the threads. I might fill the tube with jb weld to make it "solid" and enable me to thread the pipe deeper. I have been looking for a thicker walled pipe, but haven't had any luck.

I have a couple pictures if the mold making process:

[DarakuTenshi]

Actually I need orange LED bat tops. I too am following.

[tylerwerrin]

more pictures of the finished cast and etc:

[tylerwerrin]

as you can see, the finished cast turned out pretty good. Upon closer inspection there are some bubbles at the base, which means next time i'll have to use a hair dryer at the beginning of its cure time to remove more. I will also make sure to submerge the inserts further into the cast. The best news is that these casts diffuse light perfectly -- using the flashlight from my phone, i could see the stick glow very evenly.

Onwards to the next bat top!

[Brutick]

This is awesome!

Now you have to set one up with some lighting and show us all

[tylerwerrin]

Ha, just waiting on my LED's... if i had a small bulb socket i could use one of my led bulbs for my car. Ill rummage around and see if i can find some christmas lights or something, or do a mockup with my phone.

[mcseforsale]

Watching this one. 

AJ

[Le Chuck]

Have you tried OnlineMetals? They have a fairly comphrensive selection of tube. 

Shipping is a bit high but they offer a good product and service in my experience.

[tylerwerrin]

Here are a couple pictures of the finished top up close. As you can see, they aren't "perfect", but since it is my first cast I'm hoping the next couple tries will turn out better.

I will check out Omnipipe and see if I can find a cheaper source of 5/16" OD pipe -- the diameter of the Happ Competition joystick is 5/16", but the Happ 4-way joystick shaft is a bit bigger -- i was incorrect in saying it was 1/4" in my first post.

What I may do for my next cast is use a wooden dowel as my rod to suspend the brass insert in the cast, then drill the wood out, and chase the threads with my 5/16-18 tap. This way I won't have the issue of having the pipe be a pain to remove from the handle (its really stuck in there...).

Any other suggestions you might have for me in terms of making the cast work out a little better? I've been lurking around on Resin sites for suggestions -- i'm not sure how to use inserts intended for resin after the fact (i figure drill a centered hole and tap the insert in... but i'm not sure.)

[tylerwerrin]

The thickest pipe wall i can find for 5/16 pipe is:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=14739&step=4&showunits=inches&id=312&top_cat=1

I purchased some of these babies:

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/fasteners/Threaded-Inserts/press-inserts-thermo-plastics/5-16-18-flush-press-insert-brass-240-5-br

as well as some standard wood threaded inserts. I will see which one works the best. Still waiting on RGB Led's. If this experiment turns out to be a success, i have purchased enough supplies to be able to make a small run, if any one is interested. I'll probably have enough material for 20 pieces (leds included).

[Mr_Numbers]

Watching and would possibly be interested if able to make a production run.   

[Slippyblade]

I'm interested as well.  Let us know when you have a guestimate on cost.

[Brutick]

tylerwerrin,

Why not have the brass insert threaded so when you cast the bat top, you can unscrew the finished bat top off of the brass insert? Then you can manufacture any shaft you want that will have the same threading as the brass insert.

Just my $0.02.

Thanks,
Brutick

[tylerwerrin]

the inserts are all threaded -- i just had a bear of a time casting the insert in the resin with the tube connected and removing the tube afterwards. The forums say to oil up the tube/threaded end so the resin can't harden and trap it. I think I will use a wooden dowel, and jam that on the brass insert and drill it out afterwards, or just cast with the wooden dowel in the resin and drill out the hole and tap in the plastic insert afterwards.

I need to use a wooden dowel or some kind of easily drillable object to pull the cast from the mold...

[pbj]

http://www.labcon.com/culture.html

 

[tylerwerrin]

here are a couple pics lit up with my phone -- you can see that the light is diffused fairly well, but the bubbles are unsightly. 2 new tops are currently curing, here's hoping there are no bubbles.

also, thanks for the link to online pipe -- they have 5/16" OD with a .09" wall -- which is perfect for threading.

[Slippyblade]

Huh.  I kinda like the bubbles.  Let me know what you plan to do with it, we might work something out.

[RandyT]

here are a couple pics lit up with my phone -- you can see that the light is diffused fairly well, but the bubbles are unsightly. 2 new tops are currently curing, here's hoping there are no bubbles.

Bubbles are the result of incorporating air when mixing and pouring.  You want to mix slowly and evenly, and pour the same way.  To get things really bubble free, a vacuum chamber is a necessity.  This will draw all of the air out of the mixture.

[Slippyblade]

Randy's right about the vacuum chamber.  Mind you, one doesn't need to be expensive.  My wife does pewter casting and when setting up her silicon molds we use an oversized tupperware dish from the dollar store and a shop-vac.  Cut a hole in the tupper that fits the shop-vac hose.  Shove the hose into the hole, slide on O-ring on the hose from the other side and Bob's yer uncle.  No bubbles in the mold.

[pbj]

I like the bubbles, too.

[tylerwerrin]

well if someone wants to loan me their degassing chamber, i'd be willing to do a run. Or, if you have a little write up on how to make a home-made one, i could give it a shot. There are some nice pro ones on ebay, but i'm not in the mood to spend 200 bucks.. If i went the shop vac method, how long would i need to apply vacuum to the cast? I can't let it go too long otherwise it will begin to harden.

The new molds i cast are just about dry, i'll check them when i go home for lunch. I will also try to be very careful about stirring on my next run. Also, one final thing -- do people like the Happ 4 way competition bat tops, or the regular Happ competition stick? I am currently making molds with the 4 way style (the one in pictures).

I could make a little jig which could could make 6 tops at a time... i'll be back shortly.

[Slippyblade]

I run the shop-vac for about 15 minutes, but it really depends on how good the seal is.

[Mr_Numbers]

images

[Slippyblade]

images

+1

[tylerwerrin]

well, here is the new cast -- looks like its a success. Used a mini vacuum chamber built from Tupperware and stirred very slowly. No bubbles and the threaded insert is cast within the plastic itself. I bought a new resin kit, so I'll be able to make about 12 total tops. Still waiting on the RGB Led's. Sorry for the wait. I'll get more supplies if they become popular and people are happy with them. What's nice about the removable tops is you can swap them for whatever style you like, providing they are threaded with 5/16-18. Conversely I have some M6 inserts, which would be compatible with standard hollow shafts.

[tylerwerrin]

hey guys,

just wondering what resistors I will need, if using with the LED Wiz (version 2). The Electric Ice buttons with their RGB Drive have small resistor pellets -- I am not sure of the Ohm rating. I have also heard I might not need to use resistors with the LED Wiz version 2. Please let me know!

[armi0024]

Nice work!  Two guys did the illuminated tops, Dragon Sticks did a run of Delrin ones for us that looked pretty good before he dropped off the map

The 6mm threading works well but it's harder to sit an RGB LED in there which is why we have used 10mm threading.  That's usually the threading on the outside of the brass insert so it's pretty easy to unscrew it and use a 10mm top.

Keep up the nice work, and let me know, I can help out with doing this on an indexed based controller also. (This can be run of Ultimarcs new Indexable LED controller pretty easily.  It's pretty straight forward to adapt the EI buttons over to index controlled also.)

Hi guys,

My CP has 90's style Bat tops -- I like the style more than the ball tops, yet I love how the ball tops light up and generally just look awesome with an LED wiz. Anyways i started searching around on the net, and discovered that only one guy has ever made an illuminated bat top -- it was a prototype in which he cast a mold, dyed resin and installed joystick shafts.

His looked awesome, so I figured I'd give it a try. The one catch I have found is finding low cost joysticks which are hollow to allow for the wire to be threaded inside. Anyways, I'll get to that in a minute. Here's what I did (sorry for no pictures during the build... i'll get some if you are interested!)

1) Bought OOMOO 30 Silicone Molding compound and mixed it 1:1 in a mixing cup.

2) Using a Happ competition joystick as my mold template, I inserted the joystick with the bat top facing down in my drill press and lowered it into my Silicone. The next morning, my mold had hardened. I popped the joystick out, leaving a nice cavern for which I would cast my resin into.

3) i used 1 drop of Castn' Craft white pigment with about 5 ounces of resin. It turned a nice milky white. This would be what I would cast with.

4) I had purchased some 1/4" steel tube at a local auto parts store and cut it to the length of my bat top, plus half an inch. I then threaded one end of the hollow tube with 1/4-20 thread.

5) I then screwed on a 1/4-20 brass wood insert.

6) I put this arrangement, with the threaded end & insert DOWN into my mold, and got it directly in the middle. I then filled the mold with my resin mixture.

7) I let the thing cure for a couple days in the sun just to be sure. I popped the newly cast bat top out of the mold and then using the force of the chuck on the hollow tube i was able to unscrew the tube from the newly cast top!

I now have a handle (which looks comparable to a normal joystick shaft.. it could look better, and will, after I chrome it -- the stainless steel finish isn't the best). I will thread an RGB LED easily down the shaft of the hollow tube -- with any luck it will light up just fine!

I'll keep you guys posted...

[tylerwerrin]

thanks! The reason why i used the 5/16-18 inserts is because the hollow shafts were expensive and I couldn't easily make my own. The stainless steel pipe looks good, even without a chrome treatment and the pipe fits in the happ competition joystick base perfectly. Not only that, but the pipe is relatively cheap to source.

[tylerwerrin]

couple more pix of the threaded stainless tube -- a cheap effective way for a hollow shaft to feed your LEDs...

[tylerwerrin]

My LED's finally came! I need to pick up resistors for them tomorrow. I have 10mm and 5mm LEDs. I'd like to use the large 10mm ones because of the additional plastic that is in the tops, but I don't think i'll be able to fit it in the hole.

I also successfully cast the longer, thinner style Bat top -- i had to use an EZ lock knurled insert to provide the requisite threading because the larger wood inserts showed through the plastic. I'll post some more pictures tomorrow.

[tylerwerrin]

I have run into a bit of a snag -- the RGB LED's fit on the end of the threaded pipe, but the problem is getting the wire to fit in the pipe with heat shrink tubing around the annodes of the LED's. They are simply too bulky. I have looked around for some kind of prewired LED that might be able to fit, but have come up empty. The other idea is to get RGB Wire which is 22ga and attempt that. What would anyone out there suggest? The leads on the LEDs are so tiny that its really tough to just solder a tiny spec and have that hold the wire. Randy, I've noticed that on your RGB drives you have a tiny blob of solder holding the wire leads to the resistor pellets. Do you have a tip for me that I could try?

[armi0024]

I may be misunderstanding, but what if you let the led sit up a little higher off the top of the shaft instead of tucking it inside.  Maybe do your mold  and the drill a little pocket up into the bat top for it.  What you are running into is why we use 10mm instead of 6mm threading for rgb joysticks. 

[RandyT]

I have run into a bit of a snag -- the RGB LED's fit on the end of the threaded pipe, but the problem is getting the wire to fit in the pipe with heat shrink tubing around the annodes of the LED's. They are simply too bulky. I have looked around for some kind of prewired LED that might be able to fit, but have come up empty. The other idea is to get RGB Wire which is 22ga and attempt that. What would anyone out there suggest? The leads on the LEDs are so tiny that its really tough to just solder a tiny spec and have that hold the wire. Randy, I've noticed that on your RGB drives you have a tiny blob of solder holding the wire leads to the resistor pellets. Do you have a tip for me that I could try?

For a standard RGB LED, you don't need much for wire gauge.  A 4-segment wide length of ribbon cable (just peel off what you need) is quite thin and would work fine.  30 gauge "wire wrap" wire would work fine as well, and is much smaller.  Once you have it soldered, a dab of hot melt which encapsulates the connections will serve to both insulate and provide strain relief for the wire.  Just keep it below the led and it won't increase the diameter.  You can use your fingers to shape the hot melt, once it cools down a little.  Scuffing (or flattening on a sander) the top surface of the LED will also help to diffuse the light so you get better distribution.